The present invention relates to a novel Staphylococcus antigen, and to a method for obtaining and using the antigen.
Staphylococcus causes several diseases by various pathogenic mechanisms. The most frequent and serious of these diseases are bacteremia and its complications in hospitalized patients. In particular, Staphylococcus can cause wound infections and infections associated with catheters and prosthetic devices. Serious infections associated with Staphylococcus bacteremia include osteomyelitis, invasive endocarditis and septicemia. The problem is compounded by multiple antibiotic resistance in hospital strains, which severely limits the choice of therapy. In the majority of cases the causative organism is a strain of S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus or S. hominis, or a combination of these. The problem with Staphylococcus is compounded by multiple antibiotic resistance in hospital strains, which severely limits the choice of therapy.
A S. aureus vaccine would provide a solution for the problem of antibiotic resistance. An antigen common to multiple Staphylococcus species would enable production of a vaccine containing a single antigen that would be effective against a wide variety of staph infections.